Curated OER
Light Energy and Colors
Learners participate in experiments to observe the effects of light energy on colored objects. They conduct various experiments, create a graph and a word bank, record the results, and write an evaluation.
Curated OER
Energy Resources: Where Are They and How Do We Get Them?
Future energy engineers visit several stations, each one dedicated to a different alternative source of energy. They describe how solar energy is converted into other forms of energy, the patterns of distribution of energy resources in...
University of Waikato
Māui and the Sun
Using a Maori legend, How Maui Tamed the Sun, youngsters are introduced to the importance of sunlight to civilization. Teach them about nuclear fusion that occurs to produce the solar energy we later receive on Earth as electromagnetic...
Curated OER
Polar Energy
Students define and read an article on polar energy. In this polar energy activity, students answer questions about the article. Students participate in activities related to isotopes, half-life and radiocarbon. Students make global...
Curated OER
Energy Motion in the Ocean
Students explore the wave energy that is generated and transferred in the ocean. Through the use video and the Internet, students explore the aspects of a wave and how its energy affects the ecology of the seashore.
Curated OER
The Dirt on Plants
Students draw and label the four parts of a plant. They describe changes that are part of the common life cycle. Students follow various one and two step directions. They are asked to discuss that they can recall about plants.
Curated OER
Project Energy
Students explore multiple types of energy. In this energy lesson, students prepare a science fair project through completing a WebQuest. Students investigate radiant, thermal, and biochemical energy.
California Academy of Science
Energy: A Day in My Life
If only we could harness the energy of fifth graders, our energy problems would be over! The class discusses where different forms of energy come from and how we use them. They complete a chart of the activities that they do daily that...
Curated OER
Energy Defined
Fourth graders complete activities to study the sources of energy and forms. In this energy lesson, 4th graders discuss the origin of energy and define it. Students participate in several experiments to further study energy including a...
Curated OER
X-ray Spectroscopy and the Chemistry of Supernova Remnants
This link takes you to a comprehensive unit that delves into emission spectra and supernovas. There are four parts: How and where elements are created, electromagnetic radiation, spectroscopy, and the newest technology for studying our...
Curated OER
Circle of Life
Here is a well-designed science lesson plan that shows learners that everything that organisms do in ecosystems, including running, breathing, burrowing, growing, requires energy. After a thorough discussion of their own eating and...
Curated OER
How Diverse is That?
Compare various types of biological diversity in a coral reef and calculate a numeric indicator that describes the diversity found in coral communities. Your class can work in groups to look at the abundance and distribution data of...
University of Colorado
Can Photosynthesis Occur at Saturn?
In the 19th activity of 22, learners determine if distance from a light source affects photosynthesis. Participants capture oxygen in straws and find that the amount of water the gas displaces is proportional to the rate of photosynthesis.
Space Awareness
Climate Zones
The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The lesson goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use a strong lamp,...
NOAA
Animals of the Fire Ice
When the sun's rays can't reach the producers in a food web, where does all the energy come from? Extreme environments call for extreme food sources. Young scientists investigate creatures that appear to get their energy from methane...
Curated OER
Specialized for the Sea
Students use pictures and make a mural to investigate how ocean animals are adapted to certain parts of their environment.
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Understanding the Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse effect is important, for without it, life on Earth would not exist. An activity that includes modeling the greenhouse effect and acting out the Earth's energy balance makes up the first part in a series of seven lessons....
Curated OER
The Energy of Life in Zebrafish
Pupils study the stages of development of an unknown organism. In this zebrafish lesson plan, students examine and collect data as they use microscopes to view a zebrafish embryo.
Curated OER
Sound Busters
Fourth graders engage in a study of sound pollution at their school. After a class discussion on what noise pollution is, learners are asked if they think there are areas of their school or community where noise pollution is a problem....
Curated OER
Solar Matters II
Students research solar energy. In this solar energy lesson, students construct a KWL chart and research solar energy through various websites and related readings. Students complete a science journal page as an assessment.
Curated OER
Leaves, the Sun, and the Water Cycle
As a way to combine life and physical science, or simply as an investigation of plant transpiration, this lesson is sure to inspire! Middle schoolers capture the moisture given off by plants that are placed in different conditions. They...
Curated OER
Introduction to Light
Students study the basic structure of the atom. In this chemistry lesson, students explain how colors relate to energy that electrons emit. They calculate energy of the emitted photons.
Curated OER
Is It Hot in the Light?
Third graders make observations about the temperature of items in direct sunlight. In groups, they discuss why asphalt, brick and cement are warmer than items surrounding them. To end the lesson, they examine how heat transfers energy...